Mirror Master vs the Flash
by pumajack
Summary: Realizing that the Flash could destroy Central City, Evan McCulloch (The Mirror Master), teams up with the Arrow team to try to stop the Flash from using his speed. Thrown into the mix is Cassandra Cain, batgirl or the black bat. This is mostly drama, action, and romance and has a bit of a love triangle/square. This is my first fanfic so please review and leave suggestions!
1. Evan McCulloch

Chapter One

Evan McCulloch

I looked at my watch and saw it was 4:45 so I knew that it was almost time to leave work. As I was shutting down my computer I saw a new update on Iris West's blog. "The Streak saves man from burning building". At least in this crazy new world of meta-humans someone was trying to help the city. This barista posting stories about the streak, however, was not helping the city. The agency was trying to keep the public in the dark about meta-humans; it is in their best interest to stay ignorant. If people knew, they would have to live in constant fear of who is a meta-human and they would be aware of the constant danger now present in the city.

I shut down my computer and packed my stuff.

"See you Evan," said Cassidy, my best friend

"Good night Agent Foster," I replied officially, pretending like we were just coworkers.

Giggling she said, "Goodnight Agent McCulloch."

I left the building and drove my car across town to my apartment. I got home, put on my some sweatpants, and started cooking dinner.

"Ahhhh, Ramen," I said and took a bite.

 _God damn I'm underpaid_ , I thought. I cleaned my dishes and got into bed. I re-watched a couple of episodes of _The Office_ on Netflix and went to sleep.

The next morning I woke up and started eating some Honey Bunches of Oats. Bored after reading the back of the cereal box every other time I ate breakfast, I decided to flip through _What_ _If_ , an interesting conceptual physics book. I found a chapter titled, "What would happen if you pitched a baseball at the speed of light?"

 _That sounds interesting_ , I thought. _Sounds like this could apply to our scarlet speedster_ , I chuckled.

After skimming through the chapter, I read how the baseball would cause a thermonuclear explosion. Since the air molecules around the ball would not move in time to avoid the ball, the atoms would fuse and emit a bunch of gamma rays. This explosion would level the stadium and cause the surrounding city to be engulfed by a firestorm.

"Oh my God!" I exclaimed and panicked. The Flash is going to destroy Central City.


	2. STAR Labs

Chapter 2

STAR Labs

After freaking out about how the Flash could destroy Central City, I realized I was late for work.

"God damn," I yelled as I quickly jumped into the shower and got dressed. I drove to work as fast as I could and finally got to the office. I searched for my boss to tell him what I just discovered.

"There you are McColloch," my boss scolded me.

I replied, "I'm so sorry I'm late Mr. Simmons, I just discovered something huge-"

"There's no time right now," he interrupted me, "We just found Harley Rathaway, who knows where the Flash's base is."

"W-what," I stuttered, gaping.

"The Flash and his team operate at STAR Labs. I want you and Agent Foster to go and apprehend the Flash."

"But I thought STAR Labs was destroyed by the particle accelerator?"

"Not all of it. Now go, you're already late."

I hurried into my office to find my gun, Kevlar vest, and the rest of my work gear.

"Great day to be late, Evan," Cassidy sassed.

"I'm so sorry Cass, I just discovered something huge about the flash," I explained.

"Yeah, I've known all morning; the Flash is at STAR labs. Let's go already," she yelled.

"No, no, something else," I said.

"OK, we'll talk about that later but right now we have to go to Star Labs."

"But-" I tried to say.

"Not now!" Cassidy ordered.

We got into the car and drove quickly to STAR Labs. We barged through the front doors and found ourselves in the middle of an army troop.

"The CIA always meddling in army affairs," General Eiling commented.

"We're sorry, we just found out about the Flash's base and were coming to-," Cassidy tried to explain.

"Zip it!" Eiling barked. "Get rid of them," he ordered his troop.

 _The Flash isn't the only one affected by the particle accelerator_ , I thought.

As they started firing at us, I tackled Cassidy to dodge the bullets and projected a one-way mirror in front of us to confuse the soldiers. The soldiers were puzzled and stopped shooting.

"Why aren't they shooting?" Cassidy asked me.

"Shhhh," I said, covering her mouth.

Hearing the noise, the soldiers shot at us. I rolled us to the side and bullets impaled the ground where we just were. Cassidy silently gasped. I lifted my hands and extended the mirror to circle around the troop and Eiling. Utterly perplexed, the soldiers panicked. During the chaos I grabbed Cassidy's hand and ran to the elevator. I shut the door and pushed level 17, where the Cortex was. I projected a mirror in front of the security camera so they would not see us coming.

"How did you-" Cassidy asked.

"Shhhh," I said, since my mirror could not hide sound.

We reached the seventeenth floor and opened the elevator. Cassidy and I picked up our guns from our holsters and entered the Cortex. We saw a longhaired Puerto Rican man at one of the computers.

"CIA put your hand behind your head," Cassidy ordered.

"Barry, a little help here," the man said.

"You have the right to remain silent," Cassidy growled, "I suggest you use it."

A streak of lightning entered the room and suddenly both of our weapons were taken and our hands were handcuffed behind our backs.

"Hey Cisco," the Flash said to the Puerto Rican man.

"Thanks, Barry," Cisco replied.

"We are agents of the CIA, un-cuff us right now and return us our weapons," Cassidy yelled.

"Uh, we are gonna let you two calm down for a minute before we do that," the Flash replied.

"Pardon me for being slightly upset after being attacked by the army," Cassidy snapped.

"The army?" Cisco asked.

"General Eiling," a man in a wheel chair interjected, entering the room. "I'll take care of it." The man in the wheel chair started to leave

"Dr. Wells, what are you doing," asked a woman in lab coat.

"Going get rid of him," he said mysteriously and left.

"We are just going to let Dr. Wells go face an army troop? What is he going to do? We should go with him," the woman argued.

"No Caitlin, Dr. Wells wouldn't go alone without a plan," said Cisco


	3. The Flash

Chapter 3

The Flash

"Are you going to let us out or just hold us hostage," Cassidy grumbled.

"You just won't relent, will you?" Cisco jested. "Should we take them to the pipeline while we're deciding what to do with them?" he asked.

"They're just a couple of CIA agents, the pipeline is for super villains," Caitlin replied.

"Although they did get past an attacking army," Barry pointed out.

"Yeah how did you do that?" Cisco asked.

"We ducked the bullets and ran into the elevator," I replied vaguely.

"You ducked a troop of bullets?" Cisco asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I said, wondering what I should tell them.

Dr. Wells entered the room and told the group, "It is been taken care of."

"What? How?" Caitlin asked.

"Well, I denied any claims about the Flash and made a few threats to General Eiling," Dr. Wells answered with a smirk.

"Oh," Cisco realized, "You brought up Grodd."

"I may have," Dr. Wells answered with a smile.

"Guys what are we going to do with these CIA agents? Who even are you two?" Barry asked.

"I am Agent Evan McColloch and you're going to let us go after I tell you something you don't know," I answered.

"And what's that?" Cisco asked.

"That the Flash, or Barry as you all call him, is going to destroy Central City," I replied calmly.

"What?" Cassidy exclaimed. "This is the story you are risking our lives with?" Cassidy whispered angrily in my ear.

"I'm not lying," I declared.

"Wait, how would I destroy Central City? I'm not a super villain despite holding you hostage right now," Barry said.

"Well if you are a hero, you will never use your super speed again," I told him.

"You're gonna have to tell us some reasons real soon, buddy," Cisco demanded.

"He hasn't reached his peak velocity yet, has he?" I asked.

"No," Dr. Wells answered, "We are not yet aware of the scope of his capabilities."

"If he goes fast enough, which he will very soon, he will create a nuclear explosion. He will be traveling so fast that the air molecules will not have enough time to move and will fuse with his body, creating a blast that would destroy the city," I explained.

"He's right," Cisco realized, "How did we not realize this before?"

"It isn't anything to worry about," Dr. Wells contended.

"Nothing to worry about?" Barry asked, "Just me and everyone I love killed because I run too fast!"

Dr. Wells explained, "When the particle accelerator exploded, he became able to control the Speed Force. He is able to manipulate energy in a way that current physics cannot understand and the danger of a thermonuclear explosion is negated by this force."

Cassidy retorted, "Wait, you're trying to tell me you are betting the lives of everyone in this city on Star Wars? We saw that you betting our lives didn't go so well with the particle accelerator."

"Yeah this is way too big a risk to take based on the concept of the Speed Force," I agreed. "There are no other speedsters that exist so we can't know whether the Speed Force would protect Barry from an explosion, even if it does exist."

"You two don't understand, if Harrison Wells is this confident about the Speed Force, then it does exist," Barry argued.

"I'm sorry I don't have a lot of confidence in the ideas of the man that blew up a building in the middle of the city," Cassidy snapped.

"You don't know him like we do," replied Cisco.

Caitlin remained silent.

"Well as it seems there is no convincing you, will you let us go?" I growled.

"Yes they can go," Dr. Wells replied.

Cisco un-cuffed our hands and said, "I'm sorry but you're a little bit too angry to get your guns back."

"Fine," I said. We started walking out of the room and I said, "At least think about the dangers of your powers."

"I will," Barry replied.


	4. Mirror Master

Chapter 4

Mirror Master

We got into the elevator in silence. It feels kind of awkward between us ever since I used my powers.

"Sorry I'm not talking, I'm not mad," Cassidy said. "It's just a lot to take in."

"Yeah, it is, even for me," I replied.

"Maybe we should take off the rest of the day and catch up," she suggested.

"That sounds like a great idea," I replied.

We went to work and debriefed our day, leaving out my powers and realization of the Flash creating a nuclear explosion.

We finally finished around 2:00 and got in my car.

"Where do you want to go," I asked.

"What about Jitters?" she suggested.

"Ugh, if we want to be on Iris West's blog, maybe," I complained. "I'm just being overdramatic. Jitters is good."

We walked into the coffee shop and sat down at a table.

"I don't even know where to start," I said.

She laughed and her dark bangs went in front of her eyes. I reached out in front of her to move her bangs out of her eyes. She immediately grabbed my wrist and twisted it. She let go, embarrassed.

"Sorry," I whispered regretfully.

"Oh, no it's ok, I'm the one who should be sorry," she replied, cringing in embarrassment. "Um, Reflexes, you know," she said. "Way to kill the moment Cassidy," she muttered.

"Oh yeah, haha," I replied half-heartedly.

 _Oh god why did I have to make that awkward_ , I thought _. It was going great and then she laughed and I tried to move her hair. Her laugh always gets me. God why did I try to move her hair! We're just friends!_

"So ummm," she started, "Maybe you talk about how you got your… abilities."

"Oh yeah, sure," I said, trying to get back to the way things were before I tried to move her hair.

"Well, it started the night the particle accelerator exploded. I was at STAR Labs that night, watching the particle accelerator opening. When everything started to go wrong, sirens went off and everyone was trying to leave the buildings. I couldn't get past the crowds and I figured I wouldn't be able to make it out in time. I noticed that the bathroom walls were made of concrete and I thought that I might be safe there. I stayed in there for a couple of minute and when the accelerator exploded, I was launched into the air and hit the bathroom mirror. It shattered and the shards pierced my skin but the bathroom did not collapse after the explosion. I went to the ER and got the pieces removed and a whole bunch of stitches.

"A couple weeks later I started noticing weird things going on. Like, I was about to enter a meeting that I was pretty nervous about and I wondered if I looked OK. I looked back at a wall and there was a mirror there that wasn't there a minute before. One time I thought that someone was following me and all of a sudden a mirror appeared in my hand that I could see him with. It wasn't a mirror, though, just like a projection of a mirror. Just a reflection.

"I started to realize that I was controlling the mirrors and started to try it out. I tried it at home for a while and then at a couple CIA cases to help apprehend criminals. I didn't want to tell anyone because I realized I was a meta-human. I was nervous that they would think I was dangerous and I would be imprisoned or killed. But I guess that's silly because now you know and you aren't scared of me or going to turn me in. Wait you're not going to turn me in, are you?"

"Evan!" she laughed, "Of course not! You are my best friend and just saved my life!"

"Yeah I guess," I said sheepishly.

"You guess? You definitely did! Thank you for being so honest with me and saving my life today. The only way I can repay you is doing the same for you."

"What?" I asked.

"I want to be honest with you," she said. "I'm not who you think I am. My past is difficult and-"

"You don't have to tell me about it if it is hard for you."

"Yes I do. It's only fair."


	5. Cassandra Cain

Chapter 5

Cassandra Cain

"I don't know where to start either," she told me.

"You don't have to do this Cassidy," I replied.

"Oh good idea," she said. "My name isn't Cassidy Foster. My name is Cassandra Cain."

"Cassandra Cain? Why did you-what are you…" I stuttered.

"My parents were both assassins. My father, David Cain, wanted a perfect assassin to help him. He tried to train young kids to be assassins but these attempts were unsuccessful. He found Sandra Wu-San, a martial artist, and decided that she had potential. He murdered her sister and offered her life as long as she bore him a child."

I stared at her dumbstruck.

"When I was born, Sandra left and became an assassin named Lady Shiva. My father trained me in one-on-one combat and only taught me how to speak body language. I was trained in almost every weapon imaginable; I learned how to use explosives, knifes, and so many other weapons.

"When I was eight, I killed a man. Although I still did not know how to speak, I saw how much pain he was in and realized what I had done. I ran away from my father and met Batman. He also helped me learn how to fight. But with Batman, I fought to save others and atone for my murder.

"You may know me as Batgirl," she finished.

"Oh my God," I exclaimed. "I thought The League of Assassins, Batman, and Batgirl were all myths."

"I'm so sorry for what you had to go through," I explained. "But I can't deal with all of this right now," I said, panicking.

 _My whole world is falling apart_ , I thought. _The realization that the Flash would destroy the city, fighting General Eiling, meeting the Flash, Cassidy, the League of Assassins, Batman, Batgirl… It is all too much to take._

I started to get up. "I can't do this Cassidy-Cassandra, I'm so sorry." I started to run towards the door.

"Wait, Evan!" she screamed in anguish.

I looked back to see her face full of tears.

"Goodbye Cassidy Foster," I said before I ran out of the door and into my car. I drove home and collapsed onto my bed.


	6. Barry Allen

Chapter 6

Barry Allen

I woke up the next morning and remembered everything from yesterday. Yesterday was September 22. The day my world was turned upside down.

There was only one thing I knew for sure. The Flash needed to be stopped.

I looked at my phone and saw two voicemails and a text from Cassid-Cassandra. Cassidy died yesterday. Cassandra was who left me two voicemail and a text. I closed my phone and got dressed. I called into work and told Mr. Simmons I wasn't coming in today because the Flash captured me yesterday and I needed some rest. I wasn't lying. Just not the whole truth.

I got out my computer and started researching on the CIA database about the Flash. _If I am going to stop him, I need to know how,_ I thought. I looked at all the injuries he received. Struck by lightning, choked on poisonous gas, frozen at absolute zero, and more. If I was going to beat the scarlet speedster, I had to come up with something good.

 _DNA!_ , I thought. I looked at yesterday's clothes and found a hair he must have dropped while handcuffing me. I could get this analyzed to see how he heals so quickly and who he is.

I thought about going to the CIA to do this but I didn't want Cassandra or Mr. Simmons to see me. I'm sure as a CIA agent the CCPD would help me.

I got dressed and headed to my car.

I arrived at the department and asked a nearby officer, "Hi, I am Evan McColloch, CIA, can I talk to the police captain?"

"Hey Evan, I am detective Joe West, come right this way," the officer told me.

We entered an office and Joe said, "Captain Singh, this Agent McColloch from the CIA. He wants to talk to you."

"Hello Agent McColloch, what can I do for you? Joe can you give us the room please," replied Captain Singh.

"Of course," Joe said as he walked out of the room.

"Hello Captain Singh, it is a pleasure to meet you. The CIA lab has been malfunctioning and I was wondering if you could help us with a time pressing case regarding the Flash," I told Captain Singh.

"Of course, Agent McColloch," replied Captain Singh. "Barry Allen is our crime scene investigator and can help you with that." "I will call him right now," he said, "I'm sorry but there may be a wait, Barry isn't known for his punctuality."

 _Funny_ , I thought. _The CSI's name is Barry. Just like the Flash_.

"Thank you Captain Singh, I will wait in the lobby," I told him.

"No problem," he replied.

I exited the room and found an empty chair in the lobby. I saw a man enter Captain Singh's office and after talking for a few seconds they started walking towards me. The man looked embarrassed and as he got closer I could hear him trying to explain his reasoning behind being late.

Captain Singh introduced us, saying, "Mr. Allen, this is Agent McColloch."

"Agent McColloch?" Barry asked, confused.

"Yes, Agent McColloch," replied Captain Singh, annoyed.

"Umm, H-hello Agent Mc-McColloch," he stammered.

"Hello Mr. Allen, is there a problem?" I asked. "You seem confused or nervous" I noted.

"N-no problem," he continued to stammer. "What can I do for you?" he asked having gained composure.

"I need a hair to be DNA analyzed," I answered. "If you could try to find the identity of the hair and any special qualities to DNA has, that would be great."

"Yeah no problem," he told me. "Where did you get it do you mind me asking?"

"It is actually from the Flash," I replied, " So be careful with it and see if you can see what causes his super speed and healing," I requested.

"Th-th-th-the Flash?" he asked.

"Is there a problem," I asked.

"N-no problem," he stammered.

 _I guess Barry has a stutter_ , I thought. _He seems like a nice guy though._

I gave him the hair inside a plastic bag and Barry went up the stairs to his lab.

"Do you need anything else?" Captain Singh asked.

"No, thank you for your help," I replied.

"Of course," said Captain Singh, returning to his office.

I sat back down in the chair and decided I could wait until Barry finished.

Barry came back down after about thirty minutes looking shameful and embarrassed.

"I am so sorry Agent McColloch but I was not able to extract the DNA from the hair and the hair was destroyed in my efforts," Barry explained.

I was crushed by the news that my only lead had just been destroyed. I regained my composure and replied, "Thank you for trying, Barry."

"Of course," he said.

"I'll see you, Barry," I said.

"Yeah, see you Evan," he replied.

"How do you know my name? Ah, never mind," I said.

"Haha Captain Singh told me," he replied anxiously.

"Ah, well I'll see you," I said.

"Goodbye Agent McColloch," he said.

As I backed up, I didn't look where I was going and hit an officer's desk. On the desk was a glass bottle that was knocked over and started falling to the ground. In the blink of an eye, Barry raced over to catch it.

"Oh my God, that was clumsy, I'm sorry. Nice catch Barry that was lightning quick," I said.

 _Lightning quick_ , I thought. _Wait a second… This guy is named Barry, destroyed my DNA sample on the Flash, knows my name without me telling him, and is lightning quick. I just stumbled upon the Flash!_

Pretending to clean up the desk, I grabbed an officer's gun.

"Goodbye, Flash," I said after pointing the gun at Barry and pulling the trigger.


	7. Mirror Master vs The Flash

Chapter 7

Mirror Master vs. the Flash

As the bullet whizzed from my gun, Barry lunged to the side to dodge it. He then ran towards me and punched the gun out of my hands, knocking me to the ground. I projected a square of one-sided mirrors around him and made the square start to spin around. I saw Barry inside of them, confused and lost.

While he was struggling to see what was happening I grabbed the gun again. I aimed at Barry and shot. Once the bullet passed through the mirror, Barry saw it and dodged it. Realizing it was an illusion, Barry ran towards where the shot came from before I could fire again. He knocked me down was about to pick me up when he was distracted by the realization that he did not have his suit. I took advantage of this to project a circular mirror around Barry and run outside and into my car. Barry again realized the illusion and escaped the mirror. He ran away, probably to STAR Labs to get his suit.

I floored it going towards the highway. Before I got there, Barry found me. Almost inside my car, I projected a cube of mirrors around his head. As he moved, I concentrated on moving the mirror wherever he was, completely blinding him from his surroundings. As we approached a curve, he went straight into the oncoming traffic because he was not able to see what was going on. He was pummeled by a mid-sized truck that flew him across the road. The truck then crushed him under its wheels, knocking him out. Even for the Flash, that would leave a dent.

I didn't realize that because I was focusing on the Flash, I was not paying attention to the road. My tire hit the curb and I swerved out of control. My car rolled once, luckily landing back on its wheels. I had definitely dislocated my shoulder and was bleeding out of my left arm. Filled with adrenaline and not feeling the pain of my injuries, I got out of the car. I saw the Flash unconscious on the street jamming traffic. I knew that I hadn't killed him but my injuries were too severe to keep fighting him. I realized I could not go to the hospital or they would realize that I was a meta-human. Now close to my apartment, I decided that I could go there and bandage myself up with my first-aid kit.

I put a square of mirrors around myself so that instead of seeing me, someone would just be confused by a floating mirror. I finally got to my apartment, the pain starting to really set in. I got out my first-aid kit and got out a needle and thread. I excruciatingly started to stitch my wound. I realized I wouldn't be able to put my shoulder back into place myself. I couldn't call anyone from work or a hospital and I didn't really have any other friends.

 _Felicity_ , I thought. Felicity was one of my best friends when we were in college at MIT for computer programming and hacking. That is how I was accepted into the CIA so easily. I remembered she was coming into town this week to visit friends. I dialed her number and waited for a few seconds.

"Hello," she answered.


	8. Felicity Smoak Part 1

Chapter 8

Felicity Smoak

"Felicity are you in town? I need your help!" I asked abruptly.

"Yeah I just got here and I'm sorry I can't help right now another one of my friends just got into an accident. They are in the hospital right now," she answered.

"Felicity I'm severely injured and losing blood and you're the only one who can help," I said.

"Oh my god where are you?" she asked, alarmed.

"In my apartment," I replied, grimacing.

"Ok get into bed your bed and don't move, I'll be right there to help you. I mean to help you with your injuries not help you with anything else you thought I might have meant or-"

"Felicity!" I shouted impatiently.

"Right, Ok, I'm coming," she said nervously.

I listened to her advice and got into bed so that I didn't damage anything more than I had to.

After a few minutes I heard Felicity at the door. She knocked and yelled, "Evan!"

"Yeah come in," I shouted back.

She opened the door and saw my injuries said, "Oh my God Evan what happened, why aren't you at the hospital?"

"Hi Felicity, how is Starling City?" I ask sarcastically.

"Evan!" she screamed.

"Ok, OK, I was fighting against the Flash and I got into a car wreck," I told her.

"Wait, you are the Mirror Master?" she asked accusingly.

"The Mirror Master? Yeah I'm a meta-human who can project mirrors," I explained. "How do you know about me?" I asked, confused.

"Cisco gave you that name and told me that the Mirror Master was the one who shoved Barry under a truck. You did that? The Flash is a hero why are you fighting him? Also, the Flash can move quicker than you can blink, did you expect to come home today alive and free?" she ranted.

"You know Cisco and Barry?" I asked.

"Yeah I met Barry before he became a meta-human, we are friends," she replied. "And are you just going to ignore my questions?"

"Whose side are you even on?" I asked wondering whether I could still trust her.

"Well because of your current explanations of zero, Barry's," she snipped. "But you are still my friend and we have already spent too much time arguing and not bandaging you up. Where are your medical supplies?"

"I think I left them on the table in the kitchen," I answered.

Felicity retrieved the supplies and took out the scissors. "These stitches you put in are awful they are going to get infected or fall out," she warned. She started cutting the stitches and ripping them out of my arm.

"AUGHHH," I wailed. "When did you became an expert in nursing," I sneered.

"I've had to learn from experience in some recent situations," she replied.

She finally finished taking out my stitches and I felt the blood coming back out of my wound. She stuck the needle in my arm and started stitching back and forth.

"GOD DAMMIT," I swore. "I want an anesthetic."

"Unless you have a hospital in a back room in your apartment, you aren't getting any numbness," she replied. She stopped stitched. "I finished the stitches and the bleeding stopped. Now for your shoulder. Oh boy."

She put me on my side with my shoulder facing up and told me, "I'm not gonna lie, this will be painful."

She started applying force to push the joint into place.

"AUGGHHH," I howled in excruciating pain.

It finally popped into place and the pain started to disappear.

"Ahhhhh," I sighed in relief. "Thank you Felicity," I said getting sleepy from the exertion and pain of the day.

She rolled me on my back, put some blankets onto me, and told me, "The best thing for healing is rest."

I closed my eyes and felt her hand tenderly close around mine. I promptly fell asleep.


	9. Felicity Smoak Part 2

Chapter 9

Felicity Smoak Part 2

I woke up and started groaning. My left arm was in serious pain.

"What the hell did I do yesterday," I asked myself.

"You attacked the Flash, you jerk," Felicity sniped as she came into my room.

Everything started coming back to me. Cassandra, my battle with the Flash, felicity…

"I made you some oatmeal," she soothed.

She handed me the bowl and I started to grab the bowl with my left hand.

"Aaaah," I yelled realizing the pain in my arm from trying to lift it.

"I'll help, don't injure your arm any more than you have, you moron," she scolded.

She lifted the spoon up to my mouth and I took the bite.

"Mhmmmmm," I cooed, "How did I ever deserve a friend like you."

"You didn't," she chided.

"Oh you are still made about me hospitalizing the Flash, aren't you?" I realized.

"Oh just a tad," she sassed.

"That's because I didn't explain myself to you yet," I assured her. I explained everything about my life in the past few months. I told her about how I took shelter in the bathroom at the particle accelerator and was pierced by the mirrors.

"That's why you have those scars," she realized. "But that still doesn't explain why you went crazy and attacked the Flash," she criticized.

"I wasn't finished," I retorted. I went on to explain my realization that the flash would cause a nuclear blast in Central City, about how Cassidy and I escaped the army, how we were captured by the Flash, how we tried to convince the Flash to stop using his speed. I recounted how Cassandra told me about her past, how I met Barry Allen, and how I fought the Flash.

I realized how relieved I felt after telling her all of that. After I spewed on and on about my life, it didn't seem so hectic anymore. It felt like it might even be manageable. Felicity made me feel like I was normal and whole again.

"Oh my god," Felicity exclaimed. "The Flash needs to be stopped. I need to talk to Barry and get him to stop."

"I told you I'm not a jerk! I am doing what is right," I taunted.

"No you are definitely still a jerk," Felicity concluded.

"What?"

"How come you just left Cassandra, huh? She had been nothing but your loyal friend. She saw you use your meta-human powers in front of her eyes and was unfazed and still loyal to you. But after she explained her past, you whined about how it was 'just too much to take right now' and left her crying and alone in Jitters."

I realized Felicity was right. I had been a jerk to Cassandra. She is my best friend and I abandoned her when she was most vulnerable.

"You're right," I replied. "I have to go patch things up with Cassandra."

"Yes, you do, but right now stopping the Flash is more important. If we stop the Flash you will still have a Cassandra to patch things up with."

"That's true. Our priority is stopping Barry Allen.'

"Stopping the Flash," Felicity interjected.

"Who is Barry Allen."

"I you want my help, we are calling him the Flash, alright?"

"Fine," I agreed.

"In pursuit of stopping the Flash, there is something I need to tell you," Felicity said.

"OK, what is it?" I asked.

"I have not been as 'lawful' as you might have thought I was. I-"

"Lalalala, I'm not listening," I yelled, covering my ears. Not Felicity. Not sweet Felicity. She couldn't have become a criminal like everyone else in this crazy world.

"I work with the Arrow!" she yelled.

There was a long pause of silence.

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"I am not happy that you made me say that so loudly," Felicity complained.

"The Arrow?"

"Yeah."

"The Arrow?"

"Yeah," Felicity said, exasperated.

"He is a murderer, Felicity. I don't see you as the murdering type."

"He is on his way here in a about half an hour."

"H-here? In half an hour? You invited a murderer to my apartment?"

"Stop freaking out, I trust Oliver," she declared.

"Yeah, and you trusted me when you thought I was a psycho-maniac last night!"

"And look how right I was to trust you! You owe me this much to give Oliver the benefit of the doubt."

"You're right," I decided. "Again."

"Get used to it," she taunted.


	10. Hackers

Chapter 10

Hackers

 _Okay,_ I thought, _the Arrow is coming to my apartment in a few minutes_.

"How did you get Oliver to come to Central City so quickly?" I wondered.

"Well," Felicity confessed, "I figured Barry would need help fighting the Mirror Master. Also Oliver actually won't be here until around noon I just got a text that his flight was cancelled."

"Did you tell Oliver that we are stopping the Flash?" I asked, alarmed. "I've seen him one the news before working together with the Flash. Are you sure he will help me take down the Flash?"

"Yeah, Oliver will do what needs to be done to keep the city safe," Felicity answered. "I already updated him on the mission status and he is on board."

"I'm going to clean up these dished," Felicity told me and left.

Maybe I could check her texts to Oliver and give him a little background check. I reached for her phone and turned it on. There was a passcode required and I tried the password that I was able to hack in college. It worked and opened to an amazon page detailing the order of a bulk pack of kid's Colgate toothpaste.

 _Ha,_ I thought, _kids toothpaste._

I navigated to her text messages and searched for Oliver when I heard her coming back into the room and turned off the phone.

"We are going to Skype Oliver in a little I suggest you get dressed and ready for the day."

I groaned.

"Come on, get up," she said reaching out her hand for me to grab.

I grabbed it and lifted myself up, grumbling.

"What you need is a shower," Felicity told me.

"Fine," I said as a grabbed some clothes from my dresser, went into the bathroom, and closed the door. I attempted to take my clothes of multiple times with no avail because of my inability to move my left shoulder without massive amounts of pain. Grunting in frustration, I tried again.

"What are you doing in there?" Felicity yelled.

"I can't seem to unclothe myself," I complained.

Felicity opened the bathroom door and walked in. "I'll help," she offered.

"No-but-," I stammered awkwardly

"Come on, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before," she argued.

I blushed in embarrassment remembering that night from our time at college together.

Realizing my embarrassment, she said, "Ok, we can go back to pretending that night never happened but you are going to let me help you."

"Fine," I muttered.

She lifted up my arms despite my groans of pain and took off my shirt.

"You've bulked up since college," Felicity noted.

"You aren't making this any easier by saying that," I protested.

"Ok fine," she replied.

I stood awkwardly not wanting to take off my pants.

"Do you really need my help for this part too," she asked.

"No, ok, I'll do it," I muttered as she left the room and closed the door.

I finished undressing and got it the shower. Dried blood started coming off of me making the water bright red as it drained. I finished washing and got out.

I dried myself off and put on my pants. I picked up my shirt and left the bathroom.

"Felicity," I said.

Felicity looked up from the computer and said, "Oh yeah, do you need help?"

"Wait, is that my computer?" I asked, looking more closely.

"No this is my computer, it just looks a lot like yours," Felicity answered.

"You have a sticker that say 'I can neither confirm or deny whether this is the computer of a CIA agent'?" I asked.

"Oh, I didn't see that," Felicity admitted.

"Just because youcan hack into my computer doesn't mean you should," I told her.

"Do you want my help or not," she asked standing up. "By the way I don't think that most grown men have their top website hit as Bulbapedia Pokémon encyclopedia."

"That is- f-for –CIA research," I tried to say, "Top secret, I can't tell you any details."

"Oh, Okay," she feigned belief.

"Ok, says the person who orders bulk packs of kid's Colgate toothpaste," I fired back.

"You hacked my phone?" she asked, surprised.

"You haven't changed your passcode since college," I chuckled.

"You hacked my phone in college?"

"You didn't know that?" I asked, surprised.

"I think we need a no hacking each other rule," Felicity suggested.

"We both know we would be fooling ourselves by saying that," I pointed out.

"That's true," she admitted.

I heard her phone start ringing. "That's Oliver trying to Skype," she realized.

"Oh boy," I muttered.

"Hi Oliver," she said as she opened her phone and pointed the camera towards us.

"Hello Felicity, hello Evan," he replied.

"Hi," I said nervously.

"My cell reception is about to cut out so let's make this quick," he told us.

"Nice to see you too," Felicity jested.

Unfazed, Oliver continued, "The one thing that frustrated me most when working with Barry was his lack of planning and training. That means if we do a large amount of planning and training, we will have the upper hand. If we analyze how he fights, where he goes, who he cares about, why he is able to heal and run so quickly, we can have a chance to beat him. You two need to hack into the STAR Labs computer system so that we can monitor what they are doing at all times."

"That's a really good idea," I realized.

The image started going blurry and cut out on Felicity's phone.

"Short and sweet, I guess," I noted.

Felicity opened my computer and started hacking.

"I found the STAR Labs computer system," she said almost immediately.

I walked over to see the screen.

"It's going to be really hard to find a back door through all that encryption," I realized.

"Maybe we don't need to find one," she suggested.

"Oh yeah, just use a Trojan and make one," I realized.

She typed for a while and after a minute of waiting she said, "It's not working."

"What if we try getting into their satellite rather than the mainframe?" I asked.

"Maybe," she said.

After searching for a while, she told me, "I can't find it, they must have re-routed the system since I last hacked it."

After typing for a few minutes, she cursed, frustrated.

"I can't find any backdoors," she complained, "They must have hidden them very thoroughly knowing a CIA agent was after them."

"Unless they didn't hide them at all and we just didn't notice them," I realized.

"What? Why wouldn't they be hidden?" Felicity asked.

"Caitlin," I replied, "She never said anything while we were arguing about the Flash's powers. Maybe she didn't agree with Dr. Wells. She knows I am part of the CIA so maybe she left a backdoor for me to get in."

"You're right, I'm in," she said.

A video feed of STAR Labs popped up on the screen.


	11. Caitlin Snow

Chapter 11

Caitlin Snow

As the video popped up, an alert was triggered on one of the STAR Labs computers.

 _Caitlin got out of her chair and looked at the computer._

"Oh no," Felicity exclaimed, "We triggered a security alert on the STAR Labs computer system."

 _Through the video feed, Caitlin announced, "Hello Evan."  
_

"Oh no," I said, "She might have made that backdoor as a trap for us to find our location."

 _We heard Caitlin note, "That took you long enough for, with you being a CIA agent and all. Also, I would appreciate if you didn't crash the system and took off whatever you installed, that viscous malware."_

"Oh, our Trojan," Felicity realized, typing away at the computer to disable it. "And, done."

 _We saw a flash of lightning enter STAR Labs._

"Uh oh, looks like Barry's still up to speed," I noted.

" _Who are you talking to Caitlin," Barry asked._

" _Oh, no one," she replied unconvincingly, "I was s-s-singing."_

"Oh," I sighed in relief. "She's lying, so she must be helping us."

" _Singing a_ _bout malware?" Barry asked._

" _N-no," Caitlin argued, "Why would I be singing about malware?"_

" _What were you singing about?" Barry asked, confused._

" _Um- I-I-I was signing a-about," she stammered. "M-mirrors," she said, thinking about Evan._

"Oooof," Felicity said as she cringed.

"Yeahhh, Caitlin needs to work on her lies," I agreed.

" _Mirrors?" asked Barry._

" _Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who's the fairest of them all," Caitlin sang unconvincingly as Cisco entered._

" _What are you doing Caitlin? Whatever it is, you're putting off a real creepy vibe," Cisco criticized._

" _Yeah ok, whatever," Caitlin replied. "But speaking of mirrors, I have been thinking about how Barry could have been killed by the Mirror Master."_

" _I'm fine Caitlin," Barry replied, "I don't even have a scratch from the incident."_

"Not even a scratch?" I complained, "I'm the only one with a scratch?"

"SSH," Felicity hissed.

" _Yeah, but you could have been killed," Caitlin argued. "You have super fast healing, you aren't super resistant."_

"Caitlin is dropping hints," I realized. "Felicity, take notes of what she says."

"I've already been recording this whole conversation," she replied.

" _If he had shot he while you had that mirror square around your head he could have killed you," Caitlin continued. "You would have died before your fast healing could take place."_

 _"Yeah, she's right Barry," Cisco interjected. "There are so many way you could get easily killed. Burned to death, exploded by a bomb before you could move, covered with enough acid, decapitated, crushed by a falling object-"_

 _"Okay Cisco, I get it," Barry interrupted grimly. "I am aware of my mortality."_

 _"What Caitlin is trying to say," Cisco added, "In her own overbearing critical way," he continued," Is that while Mirror Master is attacking you, you are vulnerable because you might not be able to see and dodge attacks."_

 _"Ok, I understand, I will be careful around the Mirror Master" Barry replied, "I know you two care about me and are just looking out for me. Thank you guys."_

"Yeah, thank you guys," Felicity said with great sadness.

" _Of course," Caitlin replied with guilt._


	12. Oliver Queen

Chapter 12

Oliver Queen

We watched the video feed in silence as Cisco, Caitlin, and Barry left STAR Labs. Felicity, gaining the realization that she might be helping kill one of her best friends, looked stricken.

"I know it's hard with it being Barry we are trying to stop," I comforted her, "Just remember why we are doing this."

"I know," Felicity replied, "But in all of this planning I never stopped to think about how I would be responsible for my friends murder."

"If we don't stop him," I argued, "We will be responsible for him murdering himself and everyone else in Central City."

"I know," Felicity replied, holding back tears.

I reached out my hand to comfort her and winced in pain.

"Haha, nice try," she said giggling and sniffling her nose.

"Fine, make fun of the nice guy," I replied making us both laugh.

Felicity's cell phone ring ripped through the air, causing her to jump up.

"That's probably Oliver," she muttered.

She picked up the phone and started talking.

"Hey Oliver," she answered.

After a pause, she said, "Okay, I'll come and pick you up."

"Oliver just landed in Central City," she told me. "I'll go and pick him up, do you want to come with?"

"No, I'll stay here for some much needed chill time," I replied. "By the way, how are you going to pick him up?" I asked.

"I'll take your car, where are the keys?"

"In the car, I guess" I replied jokingly.

"You leave your keys in your car? What if someone takes it?" she asked.

"Yeah, I really could care less if someone takes that big hunk of trash totaled in the accident," I replied.

"Oh yeah," Felicity said, remembering my accident. "Well I guess Oliver can take a taxi," Felicity told me. She got out her phone and sent Oliver my address.

"How about that chill time you talked about earlier," Felicity asked.

"I'm game," I told her.

"Netflix?," She asked. "I mean not like Netflix and chill-" she sputtered, "But like just Netflix and chill." She continued blabbering while she grew red in embarrassment, 'Not 'Netflix and chill', just me and you chilling watching Netflix on separate sides of the bed and-,"

"You really haven't gotten any smoother since college," I noted.

"I really haven't," she laughed.

We watched a couple of episodes of _Scrubs_ until we heard Oliver knock at the door.

"Come in," she yelled, getting out of bed.

Oliver walked in the door and saw us in bed watching TV.

"Looks like you two really took my planning and training advice to heart," Oliver remarked.

"Hey give us a break," Felicity argued, "It has been a rough couple of days for Evan."

"Yeah, it was a rough couple of years for me on Lian Yu and I didn't have the luxury to watch TV," Oliver criticized.

"Oh, I'm Oliver and I'm so tough I survived a shipwreck and five years on a hellish island," Felicity mocked. "Did you see the video we were able to get from STAR Labs?" Felicity asked.

"Yes I did, which is all the more reason we need to start training. If we are going to kill the Flash, we need to be prepared and ready to spring a lethal attack. Are you ready to start?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah let's do this," I replied. "Can one of you give me a little help getting up?"

"Actually, for what we need to do first, you can stay there," Oliver answered.

Seeing our confused looks, Oliver took of his backpack and unzipped the pouch. He pulled out three syringes filled with liquid.

"First, we need to heal your arm if we want to face the Flash," Oliver explained.

"What is that?" I asked nervously.

He answered, "This is Mirakuru, a Japanese-"

"Mirakuru?" Felicity exclaimed, astounded.

"Yes, Mirakuru," Oliver said, annoyed.

"You plan to inject Evan with that? You can't possibly think that is a good idea?" Felicity asked, dumfounded.

"I did bring the cure," Oliver argued.

"Yeah, maybe you would be able to use that if he survives the Mirakuru," Felicity retorted.

"That's why I brought a sedative," Oliver explained, "Which will increase his chance of survival."

"Where did you even get the Mirakuru?" Felicity asked.

"I found loads of it in Sebastian Blood's warehouse. I figured in the right hands it would be useful," Oliver told her.

"What does the Mirakuru do?" I asked.

"As I was saying before Felicity cut me off," Oliver said, "Mirakuru is a serum created by the Japanese during World War II. It is designed to create a superhuman. The Mirakuru gives a person increased strength, endurance, resistance, agility, stamina, and reflexes. A person with Mirakuru also heals quickly. Instead of having to wait weeks for you to heal, in which time the Flash may have leveled Central City, you can be healed in one day."

"But," I said, waiting for the catch.

"But," he said, "There are many risks and consequences. If your body can't handle the Mirakuru, you will be killed. Also, people injected with Mirakuru develop increased aggression and hallucinations, causing them to go on killing rampages."

"Oh," I replied.

Oliver explained, "If we administer the Mirakuru with a sedative, you will most likely survive the serum. We will restrain you while you heal so you will not threaten the safety of others or yourself. Finally, we can use the cure on you so that the Mirakuru leaves your body once you are fully healed."

"I know it's risky, but we don't really have a choice. If I don't do this, everyone in the city is in danger of the Flash. I'll do it," I decided.


	13. Mirakuru Part 1

Chapter 13

Mirakuru Part 1

After I decided that I needed to take the Mirakuru to stop the flash in time, Felicity looked staggered.

"Oliver, can you give us a minute?" Felicity asked, her voice quivering in fear and anger.

"Sure," Oliver said calmly. He left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"You aren't legitimately considering Oliver's advice, are you?" Felicity asked.

"Felicity, you know why I have to do this."

Felicity argued, "But Evan, you don't realize the power and danger of this serum. You haven't seen someone affected by it. I am honestly surprised Oliver even suggested this idea having witnessed the effects firsthand. If you aren't killed in the process, I am not sure if you will resurface the same person you are right now. Your mind will be consumed with rage and hallucinations. I don't want you to have to go through the pain this drug will cause. "

"What other choice do I have?" I asked desperately.

"I don't know, we'll find another way," Felicity told me.

"What other way? I need to be healed to use my powers to stop the Flash. Oliver won't be able to do this without me."

"I don't know what I would do if I lost both you and Barry," Felicity said, her body trembling. "I don't have many other friends."

"You won't lose me," I promised. "And if something goes wrong, you will still have Oliver."

"Please don't do this," Felicity pleaded.

"I'm so sorry," I told her. "I have to."

"Then I can't watch," Felicity replied.

Felicity walked towards me and sat down on the bed next to me. She grabbed my hand gingerly, water forming in her eyes.

"I'm scared this might be goodbye," Felicity said, shaking.

"Shhhh," I said, reaching my hand to her face. I brushed the hair covering her eyes behind her ears and cupped my hand behind her head. She leaned forward, placing her lips onto mine. I closed my eyes and was lost in the soft kiss, each second feeling like an eternity.

She lifted her head and I let go of her.

"Bye Evan," she whispered.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I said with hope.

She got off the bed and walked away. She opened the door and looked back towards me, her eyes sheening.

She faced away and walked out of sight.

Oliver walked in slowly and silently.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yeah," I sighed.

He picked up his backpack and retrieved a loop of silver rope.

"This steel cable should be enough the restrain you," Oliver said.

"Regular rope isn't good enough?" I asked doubtfully.

"No," Oliver replied, "Remember, your strength will be increased. I already looked at the blueprints of this building so I know where the supports are. I have something that will drill through the wall and attach to them."

"The headboard posts aren't strong enough?"

"Again, super strength," Oliver said. "You would rip right through those."

Oliver returned to his bag and found two cylindrical silver objects. He pressed a button on them, exposing three sharp points on each of them. He walked to the wall at the head of the bed and found the spot he was looked for. He put one of the cylinders up to the wall and pressed on it. The cylinder secured into place on the wall. He pressed another button causing the contraption to start spinning and drill through the wall, leaving a metal loop behind. He found another spot on the wall and secured the other drill. He then walked back to his backpack, retrieving two more drills. At the foot of the bed, he searched on the floor for the building supports. Finding them, he installed the two other drills.

"Okay, all finished" Oliver said, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I guess," I replied.

"This might hurt your shoulder a lot," he said, "But you are going to need to spread your arms above your head so I can secure them."

"Oh boy," I muttered, "Can't we start with my feet?"

"Sure," he said.

He grabbed the loop of steel cable and crouched by his drills. He quickly and easily tied a knot around the metal loop. He stood up and removed the blankets from my bed. He grabbed my leg firmly and firmly looped the cable around my ankle twice.

"Oww," I complained, "That's way too tight."

"You'll thank me later," he said gruffly.

He took the cable to the other drill at the foot of the bed and looped it around the metal hoop twice. He spread my leg away from the other and looped the steel around it even harder.

"Aaaah," I complained.

"Shush," he scolded.

He connected the cable back to its original place by finishing the knot he started on the drill. He went to his bag and found some wire cutters and cut the loose end at the knot by the foot of the bed. Taking the remaining cable, he started a knot at the drill at the head of the bed. He told me to put my uninjured arm up and then he looped the cable tightly around my wrist, ripping the skin and causing blood to drip down my arm.

"Owwww," I yelled, "That's too tight."

"That was the easy arm," Oliver replied.

We heard a knock at the door.

"Evan?" we heard someone say with a thick Hispanic accent

"Oh no," I said, "That must be my neighbor, Mrs. Hernandez." I yelled, "I'm busy Mrs. Hernandez?"

"Que?" asked Mrs. Hernandez, "I no hear you. You make me worry, I come inside."

She started to open the door.

"You didn't lock the door?" I asked incredulously.

"I didn't know you would have intrusive neighbors," he answered.

Oliver quickly took off his shirt as she came in.

"What are you-" I tried to say.

"SSHH," Oliver commanded.

Mrs. Hernandez walked inside the room, exclaiming, "Dios mío, Evan!"

"Wait it's not what it looks-" I tried to say.

"SSHH," Oliver repeated.

Mrs. Hernandez left the apartment muttering Spanish.

"What was that for?" I asked.

"Trust me, that was easier than trying to explain to her what is really happening," Oliver answered.

"Fine," I said.

 _Damn_ , I thought, _Oliver is ripped_. _Wait, what am I thinking?_

Oliver returned to the steel cable and lifted it up, bringing it to the drill on the wall. He yanked the rope, the muscles in his bare arms rippling. The rope stretched my arm and I bit down on my lip.

"We need to do your injured arm," Oliver told me.

"Oh boy," I muttered.

He lifted my arm above my head, leaving me howling in pain. He wrapped the cord around my hand, again causing the skin to rip. He knotted the cable on the final drill and cut it, leaving me restrained on the bed.

"Auuughh," I yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll give you the sedative," Oliver told me. "But I want to ask you one last time whether you are sure you want to take the Mirakuru. If something goes wrong, the pain will be ten times worse than it is right now. That is, if you survive. Are you sure?"

I nodded my head ferociously.

He grabbed one of the syringes and stabbed the needle into my shoulder.

I felt the pain start to disappear as my vision went black and my mind became fuzzy.


	14. Mirakuru Part 2

Chapter 14

Mirakuru Part 2

An intense pain caused me to jump awake. There was a pain surging through my body, not from any particular location I could pinpoint. I saw my arms and legs tied with steel cable, not allowing for any wiggle room. The suffering became too intense to bear and I started writhing and howling.

"AUGHHH," I screamed in agony.

"Oh no," Oliver said, "I must not have injected enough sedative. The Mirakuru is counteracting the sedative. Hold on."

Oliver picked up his bag and started looking for more sedative.

"That was all I had," Oliver said worriedly. "Don't worry, you will make it through the pain, I believe in you."

I felt like a building was crushing every part of my body. I would do anything to stop the torture. I started to pull my arms and legs to try to escape from my restraints. I felt a small twinge of pain in my left shoulder but this was nothing compared with what I was already feeling. I pulled with fervor and heard a loud pop in my shoulder.

"Stop fighting," Oliver yelled, "You just popped your shoulder out of place and are literally going to rip your arm off. Not even Mirakuru will cure that."

I couldn't listen to him because the fire I felt in each of my cells was too extreme. My muscles were now in a state of enhanced strength but my healing and resistance had not yet taken effect. I continued to pull and heard snapping in my shoulder.

"STOP!" Oliver yelled.

He ran around the bed and grabbed powerfully onto my arm. He pulled my arm, counteracting the force I was applying to it. My enhanced strength was giving Oliver great difficulty, despite him previously being stronger than me.

"URGHHH," He yelled in his efforts. His arms were tense and steadfast for a couple minutes as I thrashed against him. Thick lines of sweat were formed around his eyebrows and hairline.

"Stop fighting, Evan," He yelled.

I closed my eyes in a grimace, wishing to do anything to escape the torment. I felt tears start to build up behind my eyelids and opened them to let the water out. I saw streaks of maroon in my vision and realized I was bleeding, not crying.

Oliver looked at my bloodied eyes in utter fear. He redoubled his efforts at holding back my arm, reminded of the power of Mirakuru.

I started to become weak and lost focus. I was relieved as my vision started to black. I did not care whether I was dying or falling asleep, I simply wasted to escape the pain. I relished the darkness until my consciousness faded away.

I regained consciousness and felt a pulsing power through my veins. Oliver was right about the Mirakuru; I felt stronger than I ever had before. The pain was worth this strength and power. I would not relinquish this feeling, I decided. I would not let Oliver take the Mirakuru away from me.

I opened my eyes and saw Cassandra standing next to me.

"You're awake," she stated.

"How did you- Why are you-," I said, perplexed.

"I came as soon as you were affected by the Mirakuru," she told me.

"How long was I unconscious?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," she said, "But it is almost morning."

I looked across my body and saw my shoulder, mostly healed.

"Amazing what Mirakuru can do," she said.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"To help you," she told me.

"How?" I asked.

"I'll help you decide what to do," she explained. "I know you're obviously not going to allow Oliver to give you the cure."

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Because I know you," she said sincerely. "I have a future planned for us," she said. "A great future. But to find that future, you have to trust me."

I nodded my head in agreement.

"We have to kill the three people keeping us from that future," she explained. "Keeping us from each other."

"Who?" I asked.

"Felicity, Oliver, and Barry," she answered.

"Why?" I asked, alarmed

"I'll start with Felicity," she explained. "You two obviously have feelings for one another. You have a mental bond and are interested in all of the same things. You both are extremely intelligent and compatible. She is keeping you away from me. She convinced you to stay with her and stop the Flash rather than be with me. She holds a power over you that you have to take away."

I thought her logic was extremely understandable and true.

"The Flash obviously needs to be killed," Cassandra continued. "He is a danger to you, me, and this city. With your new powers, we don't need anyone to help us. We can kill him ourselves."

I completely agreed.

"And finally, Oliver," Cassandra stated. "You have developed a sense of trust and attraction towards him. This has been misplaced, however. He is imprisoning you to keep you away from me, away from greatness. You need to kill him and escape this jail."

Invigorated by this new vision, I asked, "And then what?"

"Then you can share the power of the Mirakuru with me," she explained, "And we can have anything that we want. We could rule the city, the world. We could destroy the city and exterminate the people. Our opportunities will be endless."

I was excited by this new future and I lusted to murder those who could stop me. They would not defeat me with comfort, lies, seduction, or power. Now that I was stronger than ever, I would defeat them.

"How will I kill Oliver and escape?" I asked, quivering in excitement.

"Ask for Oliver to come to you," she advised. "I'm sure he will. Then you can kill him and rip free."

"Oliver!" I yelled.

I heard noise and saw Oliver enter the room.

"Your shoulder is almost healed," Oliver noticed.

"And I feel fine," I lied. "The Mirakuru hasn't affected me mentally."

Wary, Oliver observed me.

"Can I have a glass of water?" I asked innocently, luring him closer.

"Sure," he said, leaving the room.

He came back with the water and stood next to the bed.

"Can you untie my arms so I can take a drink?" I requested.

"No, I'll help you," Oliver decided.

He kneeled down and brought the cup to my mouth. I started drinking, the water cooling and refreshing me.

"Don't forget your goal," Cassandra reminded me. Oliver seemed unaware of her presence.

"Choke on the water," she explained, "As a ruse for him to approach closer. Then hit him with your head with maximum force which should knock him out."

I admired her brilliant plan. I breathed in the water, causing me to spit the water and heave for air. As I was choking, Oliver was deciding on what to do. He waited for a moment and since my choking continued, he realized he needed to help me. He towered overtop of me and wrapped him arms around my chest to try to perform a reverse Heimlich maneuver. Since his head was now so close to mine, I launched upwards, making direct and forceful contact with his skull.

Dazed, Oliver fell onto the floor.

"Pull against your ropes!" Cassandra spoke urgently.

I started pulling with my increased strength and resiliency. I felt the ropes start to stretch and become taut.

Oliver regained his senses and stood up. He looked at how I was pulling at my restraints and noticed how much I had made the ropes budge. I heard a crack and saw one of the outer threads of the rope snap. I pulled with ferocity, motivated by Cassandra's glance. More of the rope started to fray, alarming Oliver. He looked at my shoulder to see if my efforts had caused any damage. He realized that my shoulder was not being damaged and that in mere minutes my wound would be fully healed.

Oliver walked back to the bed and grabbed my arms, careful to avoid my head. He pushed against arms, decreasing my power on the ropes and stopping the fraying.

"Come on Evan, don't let him push you around, show him your power," Cassandra encouraged.

I strengthened my exertion causing Oliver to start to tremble.

"Just another minute," Oliver muttered.

I started gaining on Oliver, stretching the rope again. Oliver kneed me in the head soft enough not to cause any damage but to distract me, eliminating my progress. Realizing I only had seconds until Oliver would use the cure on me, I gave the maximum amount of force my muscles allowed for. The ropes stretched and started to fray again.

"So close, keep going," Cassandra said desperately.

Oliver jumped off of me to his backpack, grabbing the cure. I pulled frantically, snapping one of the ropes. This was too late, however, as I noticed Oliver had already stabbed me in the thigh with the needle.

Completely hopeless, I started to fade into darkness. I was utterly crushed by this failure, by the destruction of my dream and future. I heard the strangled sob of Cassandra and lost consciousness.


	15. Mirakuru Part 3

Chapter 15

Mirakuru Part 3

My head pounded as I opened my eyes.

"Ughhh," I groaned.

"Morning Evan," Oliver said.

"Morning," I replied groggily.

Oliver walked into my room and I noticed a large purple circle around one of his eyes.

"What happened to you?" I asked.

"You don't remember?"

I had forgotten what had happened last night and finally remembered how I had taken Mirakuru.

"Was that me?" I asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "It's a good thing you were influenced by Mirakuru when you did it or I would have beaten you to a pulp," Oliver threatened semi-jokingly. "The good news is that your shoulder is healed."

I looked at my shoulder, free of any indication of injury. I tentatively lifted it up, waiting for pain to strike.

"Oh yeah," I exclaimed, "This is great!"

"How much of last night do you remember?" he asked.

I racked my brain trying to remember.

"I guess I remember you restraining me and giving me the Mirakuru," I explained. "I think I woke up too early or something and I remember going through extreme pain. I finally fell asleep and just woke up right now."

I couldn't help but feel like I was missing something. It was like searching for a word I forgot but was right on the tip of my tongue.

"That's all you remember?" Oliver asked.

"No, I feel like there is something else I just can't wrap my head around," I told him.

"I'll show you what happened," Oliver said, "Get out of bed and look at your computer."

I got up out of bed and followed Oliver outside of my room. I saw Oliver open and login into my computer.

"What are you showing me? And how many people now know my computer password?" I asked.

"Felicity told me your password so that I could connect it to the cameras installed on the drills connected to the ropes your were restrained with."

"You recorded the whole thing?" I realized.

He showed me a screen with a paused video of me tied up on my bed. He pressed play and I saw the image start to change.

 _I saw myself start to wake up and shift in my bed. I opened my eyes and scanned the room. It looked as if my attention was caught by something next to the bed. Looking at this nothingness, I became confused and started to sputter questions._

 _After a pause, I asked the wall, "How long was I unconscious?"_

"Who am I talking to?" I asked.

"Just watch the video," Oliver told me.

" _Why are you here?" I asked the wall._

 _This nonsensical conversation continued with me asking random questions in between long pauses. Throughout the conversation, I became more and more excited._

" _How will I kill Oliver and escape?" I asked._

"What?" I exclaimed, "Where did that idea come from?"

 _After another pause I yelled, "Oliver!"_

 _Oliver entered the room and I told him that I was unaffected by the Mirakuru._

"Yeah, because I normally start conversations with walls and plan the murder of my friends."

"Friends?" Oliver asked doubtfully. "Maybe we should stick with teammates having known each other for under 24 hours."

His words hit me with a sting and silenced me. Despite only having known each other for under a day, I felt connected to Oliver after everything I went through with him. I felt like I was back in middle school trying to be friends with the cool kids and being rejected.

After being distracted for a few moments, I regained composure and refocused on the video.

 _Oliver reentered the room with a glass of water. Despite my request of being untied so I could drink myself, Oliver brought the glass to my mouth. I started drink the water and choke. Oliver removed the glass and watched as I was choking._

"Do you normally just watch as your 'teammates' are choking?" I sniped.

Oliver glared.

 _As Oliver attempted to stop me from choking, I rammed my head into him._

"Oh my god!" I exclaimed, rubbing my head and looking for a bump or bruise.

 _Oliver fell to the floor and I started pulling at the ropes that bound me. After a few moments of effort, the ropes started to fray._

"Oliver, get up and stop me!" I exclaimed.

 _Oliver stood up and noticed the ropes fraying. He got on top of the bed and tried to hold back my arms._

I heard the door open and saw Mrs. Hernandez walk in.

"Evan I came to say you sorry for coming into your apartment without knocking and-" she told me as she saw Oliver and I watching the computer.

"Dios mío," she said as she saw what we were watching, nearly fainting.

"Wait, it's not-" I started.

"Visit me when you no busy," she said as she exited the apartment.

"She really has the worst timing," I laughed.

"She does," Oliver agreed, smiling.

I continued to watch the video after being interrupted with yet another distraction.

 _Oliver was struggling to keep me restrained and after a couple minutes he let go and found the cure in his backpack. I broke the ropes as Oliver stabbed me with the cure. I looked disappointed as I went unconscious._

Oliver and I sat in silence for a moment.

"Thanks for keeping me from escaping and killing someone," I said.

"No problem," he said.

"You must have some nice arms if you could contain someone with super strength," I commented.

Oliver smirked.

"Wait, who was I talking to before I started trying to kill you?" I asked.

"Well, only you can know who that was," Oliver told me. "Mirakuru produces vivid hallucinations," Oliver explained. "In my experience and research pertaining Mirakuru, I think that the serum releases a massive amount of oxytocin into your brain while a chemical called cyproheptadine stops the production of serotonin. The added oxytocin and decreased serotonin causes hallucinations and aggression. The oxytocin is mostly absorbed in limbic system. The limbic system controls emotions such as fear, anger, happiness, etcetera. When the amounts of oxytocin are released into the limbic system, this causes the person affected by Mirakuru to see the person they love the most," he explained.

"So I saw the person I love while I had Mirakuru in me?" I asked. "Why did I try to kill you then?"

Oliver answered, "Since serotonin suppresses aggression, the decreased level of serotonin warped your perception of the person you love, causing them to convince you to try to kill me. I think that the entire time the Mirakuru was in your system, the person you love was enticing you to be aggressive."

This made sense as to why I was talking to a wall for a few minutes before trying to kill Oliver.

"How does the Mirakuru know who the person I love the most is if I don't?" I wondered.

"The Mirakuru does not know who you love, you know who you love. The Mirakuru simply allowed this subconscious feeling to surface in a hallucination," Oliver told me.

"So somewhere in my subconscious I know who I love?"

"Yeah," Oliver replied.

 _I wish I could remember what happened while I had Mirakuru in me,_ I thought, _because I honestly have no clue who I love the most._


	16. Mrs Hernandez

Chapter 16

Mrs. Hernandez

Oliver and I continued talking about Mirakuru and the Flash for around a half an hour with no major learning. Then the door flung open and Felicity rushed towards me. She grabbed me in a hug and let go.

"You're alive," she exclaimed.

"Yeah," I said, relieved to see her again.

"I would love to talk to you about everything," Felicity told me. "But Oliver and I need to return to Starling City for a couple days. Diggle called and needed us."

"I'll come," I offered.

"No, you need a day to rest and heal," Oliver decided.

"Fine," I said grumpily.

"I just booked us on a flight that was scheduled to leave three minutes ago so we have really go to go," Felicity explained rapidly.

Oliver rushed into my room and after a couple seconds came out with his bag. Felicity hugged me again and rushed outside.

She said, "See you late Evan," and shut the door.

I wondered what I would do now. I realized how empty my life was before this week. I went in and out of work, interacted only with my coworkers, and spent my free time watching Netflix and reading. I felt like I couldn't go back to that now. I had more important things to do. I now knew that I wanted to stop the Flash, spend time with my friends, and find the person I loved the most.

Even though I had new priorities, I couldn't trash my old ones. I took out my phone and called work.

"Mr. Simmons," I heard over the line.

"Hi, this is Evan McCulloch," I replied, "I was just caling to say I won't be coming to work for a few days. I was in a car accident a couple days ago and dislocated my shoulder."

"Oh, I had no idea, feel free to take some time off," he told me, "Thanks for letting me know."

"Yeah, sorry I can't come."

"No worries, I'll see you next week."

"See you next week."

Now that I had that squared away, I decided I should visit Mrs. Hernandex. She had wanted to talk to me yesterday and this morning.

I put on some clothes with my newly functioning arm and headed next door. I knocked on the door and Mrs. Hernandez answered with a smile.

"Ayvon" she said, her accent as thick as blood. She opened her arms for a hug.

"Hi Mrs. Hernandex," I replied, accepting her hug. She told me to sit at the table and she would pour me some coffee.

"Where have you been? You didn't come to our usual Tuesday dinner night?" she asked.

"Oh, I'm sorry I didn't make it, I have had the busiest week."

She walked back to the table, handing me a cup of coffee.

"Thank you, Mrs. Hernandez," I said.

"Evan, call me Rosa," she told me. "We have known each other for so long and you still call me 'Mrs. Hernandez'. You are like the son I never had, call me by my first name" she explained.

"Rosa, you have an actual son!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"I do not think that cabrón is my son anymore," she spit angrily.

"So you're still upset about that," I said.

"Yes, I am still upset about him for not helping his old mother pay for her rent when she couldn't. I am still upset about him hurting that sweet girl," she snapped. "I hope he rots in prison."

"Then I guess you might not be too thrilled about what I did this week if you are still mad about that," I said timidly.

"I can't imagine you doing anything selfish," she said confidently, "That's why I love you like a son."

"Except for my little assassin career as a child," I argued.

"You had to do that to survive on your own," she said warmly.

"I guess."

"So what happened this week?" she asked.

I had already told her how I had become a meta-human so I started explaining from the moment I learned the danger of the Flash. I told her about going to STAR labs, meeting the Flash, learning about Cassandra, fighting the Flash, calling Felicity, meeting the Arrow, and using the Mirakuru.

"Dios mío," she exclaimed, " This was a busy week."

"Yeah," I sighed.

"You are a good person, Evan. You put your life, your job, everything at risk to help the people of this city. You are more heroic than the flash ever was."

"Thanks," I replied.

"So who do you love?" she asked.

"What? I just told you I don't know," I said.

"Yes I heard, but who do you love?"

" I don't know," I replied, frustrated.

"Yes you do," she told me.

"I wish I did," I sighed, "But I have more important things to think about right now. I can't have any distractions. I'm sure Oliver would say the same thing."

"Just because you have a mission doesn't mean you can't have love, Evan. You aren't a killer like Oliver. You are a person. You need someone who is there for you."

"Soon I might be a killer," I argued.

"But you will also be a savior."

"Yeah I guess."

"If you don't _know_ who you love, then you do you think?"

"Gosh you won't let this go, will you?"

"Hey, you never got to have a mother prying into your love life, I think it is about time."

"Fine. I think maybe Cassandra or Felicity," I told her.

"Okay, start with Felicity. Why do you like her?"

"I have known her for so long and I feel so comfortable around her. We have the same interest and are both nerds. She is funny and kind and I always am happy around her."

"Felicity sounds like a nice girl. What about Cassandra?"

"Cassandra is… I don't know anymore. I feel like we completely understand each other. But I don't know if we lost that connection now. I definitely feel like I can completely trust her but… I don't even know if she still likes me."

"So you two had a rough patch but I can tell how much you care about her."

"I do but maybe we just aren't a compatible match."

"Love isn't about compatibility, Evan. It is about how much you care about someone."

"Yeah I guess. But I also care about Felicity."

"So Felicity and Cassandra are who you are thinking."

"So now you know how you feel about each of them. Pick one."

"I don't know! It is like… two different connections. I am connected with Felicity intellectually because we are mentally balanced, get along together, and am interested in the same things. Cassandra and I are connected emotionally; we completely understand and care about each other."

"How can you not know who you love and I do?" she laughed.

"What? How do you know? Who?"

"Cassandra. You care about her more than anything else in your life."

I realized she might be right. I do care so much about Cassandra. But how could I be sure? Felicity and I have a history together. We are kind of like the same person.

"Maybe. That makes sense I guess…" I said.

"You will have to figure it out for yourself to realize it don't just take my word for it."

I heard my phone buzz. I saw a text pop up that said, "This is Caitlin. We need to talk."

"I have to go Mrs. Hernandez, Caitlin wants to talk to me."

"Okay," she said as we stood up. She gave me a firm hug.

"Be careful, Evan."

"I will."

"Adios."

"I'll see you soon."

I walked outside of the apartment and headed to Jitters.


	17. Planning

Chapter 17

Planning

I hustled through the busy city sidewalk and into the coffee shop. I saw Caitlin sitting alone at a table with her hands around a mug. She waved subtly and I walked over and sat down in the empty chair.

"Hi," I said timidly.

"Hi," she replied with a forced smile.

"How are you?" I asked politely.

"We both know we're not here to chitchat."

"Yeah. What did you want to tell me?" 

"That Barry isn't a bad person," she said confidently. "I know that we think he poses a catastrophic threat to this city but that is not what he thinks. He is so convinced by Dr. Wells of this "Speed Force" but his childlike optimism could get millions of people killed."

"That is exactly why we need to kill him," I retorted.

"I just think that first we need to try again to get him to stop without violence. I don't think either of us really want to become murderers. He is a good person, if I talk to him then maybe we can change his mind."

"Then why did you ever contact me?" I asked.

"Because if this doesn't work, if I cannot convince Barry, then we need a failsafe," she told me with a cringe.

"I don't know how you think this will work. He already knows the facts. He knows the harm he has the potential to cause. What would you talk to him change?" I asked.

"Hearing that you would destroy a city from a random CIA agent is a lot different then hearing it from people you care about," she argued.

"Then maybe Felicity and Oliver should help you talk to Barry, he is friends with them too."

"You know Felicity and Oliver? Is that where Felicity went after Barry was injured?"

"Yeah, I called her to come and help me stitch up my arm after my car crash."

"Speaking of that, how did you heal so quickly?" she asked.

"Long story," I told her.

"Figured. Where are Oliver and Felicity? The longer we wait to confront Barry, the greater the chance he has of destroying the entire city."

"They went back to Starling for a little bit. Diggle needed their help." 

"Tell them to be back by tomorrow. I will figure out a reason to take Barry to Jitters. The confrontation can happen here. I will text you what time we will be there."

"I'll get Oliver and Felicity to head back into Central City. Make sure you know what you are going to tell Barry."

"Make sure you know what you are going to do if things don't workout." 

"Will do."

"See you tomorrow," she said as returned her mug and walked outside of the building.

I got out my phone and skyped Felicity.

"Hello," she answered.

"Hey, this is Evan. How are things in Starling?"

"Just finished up stopping some bank robbers," Felicity told me.

"Perfect, because we need you and Oliver back in Central City by tomorrow," I told her.

"Let me go get Oliver."

Felicity and Oliver walked into the camera's view.

"Hello Evan," Oliver greeted me.

"Hey, you guys need to get back to Central City tomorrow. The longer we wait, the more chance there is of Barry making a big boom. Caitlin is going to bring Barry to Jitters to meet you guys there. We need to try to convince Barry to stop endangering the city so that we hopefully will not need to take any further actions."

"Barry is a good person, that might actually work," Felicity chirped.

"You would be surprised what 'good' people will do with power," Oliver muttered ominously.

Felicity glared at Oliver and said, "We will get on the next train to Central City."

"We still will need to make a plan of how to take Barry down if your words won't change him," I reminded them.

"We just need you to distract Barry and slow him down so that I can get a shot on him," Oliver told me. "I am pretty sure an arrow to the chest or head will do some damage." 

"Sounds like a good plan if I can figure out how to slow him down enough to have you shoot him," I remarked. 

"Just put some mirrors around him and he sure to run into enough things to slow him down," Oliver replied.

"Ok, I hope that works." I sighed.

"We'll see you tomorrow," Felicity said.

"See ya," I said back.

The Skype picture froze as the call ended. Felicity and Oliver were frozen looking into each other's eyes in a way I never had looked into her eyes. Maybe it didn't matter whether or not I liked Felicity, she might be in love with the Arrow. Who can compete with that?

I turned off my phone and headed out of the coffee shop. Last time, my fight had no planning so I had no time beforehand to think about the danger I was facing. I was going up against a superhuman speedster. There was a very good chance I could get killed. I knew that my line of work with the CIA wasn't exactly safe, but I was going to fight against a superhero. I was in my twenties; there was so much I hadn't done yet. This could very well be my last night.

As I walked through the street, I started to think about all of my life. I thought about my first memories of the orphanage. I thought about my assassination career. I remembered the one time I saw my parents and ended up responsible for both of their deaths. I remember moving the United States to start a new life. Somehow I was able to get into MIT and meet Felicity. I was able to get a job at the CIA to help people and make up for all of the killing I had done. Out of my whole life, the thing that stuck out was Cassandra. She was the source of my happiest and most exciting moments. If I could die tomorrow, I wanted to at least see Cassandra one more time.

I focused and put a square of one way mirrors around me so that no one could see me. I walked along the sidewalk towards the CIA office. I thought about how glad I was that Cassandra told me her true life story. I wished I could go back into that moment and thank her for telling me her story instead of abandoning her. I had thought that Felicity and I seemed like the same person with all of our nerdy obsessions and jokes, but Cassandra and I actually seemed like the same person. Both of us were forced into a life of killing and are seeking for redemption. We both work for the CIA and are badass fighters. And we both care about each other more than anything else in the world. Or at least we used to.

I reached the office and stared through the window. I saw her behind her computer typing a report. She glanced at the window, her short black hair lifting to reveal her hazel brown eyes. I ran out of the window's view so that she wouldn't see a mirror in front of the window and know I was here.

I knew that I could not back out of the plan now. If not for this city, for myself, or for my friends, I would defeat the Flash to save Cassandra. I walked back to my apartment so that I could get a good night's sleep.


	18. Diplomacy

Chapter 18

Diplomacy

My alarm clock buzzed and I woke up with a jump. Damn, I wished the morning hadn't come. I checked my phone and saw a text from Felicity that said that they got into Central City last night and stayed at a hotel. I also saw that Caitlin texted me she would bring Barry to Jitters at 8:00. Shit, that's in half an hour. I passed the time along to Felicity and started to get ready.

I went into the bathroom and started to brush my teeth. Wait, why would I need to brush my teeth. Oh, may as well. I spit into the sink and saw that I accidentally spattered toothpaste on the mirror. I went to wipe off the toothpaste when my hand disappeared behind the mirror.

"What the hell!" I yelled as I pulled my hand back. Curious, I returned my hand into the mirror and was able to put my whole arm inside. Maybe I hadn't discovered the full extent of my powers yet. I didn't have time to experiment with this today because I needed to get to Jitters.

I ran out of the apartment and onto the sidewalk. I got to jitters and walked inside. I saw Oliver and Felicity sitting at the table Caitlin and I had sat at yesterday.

"Hey guys," I said nervously.

"Hey, Evan," Felicity said.

"Hello, Evan," Oliver said.

"Are you ready," Oliver said in a serious tone.

"Yeah," I said softly.

"I installed a teeny camera on this table so you will be able to see what is going on when you leave the room."

"Great, see you guys in a bit," I said as I walked into the bathroom.

I took out my phone and viewed the camera. I stood and waited for about ten minutes until Barry and Caitlin walked in.

"Felicity! Oliver!" Barry exclaimed happily.

"Hi, Barry," Felicity said as she stood up to give him a hug.

"Hello, Barry," Oliver said, shaking Barry's hand.

The four of them sat down around the table.

"What are you guys doing in Central City?" Barry asked, excited.

"I had come to see you after I heard you were severely injured by the Mirror Master but, then I got a call from one of my friends in college. Evan McCulloch," Felicity told Barry.

"Evan McCulloch?" Barry asked glancing at Caitlin, "The CIA agent?"

"Barry, it isn't coincidence that we saw Oliver and Felicity here, I told them to meet us here to talk to you about what Evan McCulloch told us," Caitlin explained.

"Wait, do you guys believe what McCulloch said? That I could create an explosion that would destroy the city?" Barry asked incredulously.

"Barry, all of the physics we've seen backs up his theory. Something going extremely fast, especially with the mass of a human, could create a gigantic explosion. You are such a smart person Barry, I don't know how you don't see the likely danger of your powers," Felicity explained.

"Yeah, and do physics support a man traveling at superhuman speeds. Since the particle accelerator there have been so many metahumans that defy physics. Is it not possible that there is a "speed force" that prevents an explosion from happening? A theory Dr. Wells, who is smarter than all of us combined, came up with," Barry argued.

"Dr. Wells was wrong about the particle accelerator, could he not be wrong about this too?" Oliver asked.

"Barry, it isn't that we think the "speed force" isn't possible, but that it might or it might not exist," Caitlin interjected. "How can you risk the lives of the people of this city on a might?"

"Why don't you test your powers somewhere in the middle of nowhere like Wyoming where there are no people that can get hurt? Then at least you would only be killing yourself and some antelope if things go wrong," Felicity suggested.

"But the criminals of this city need to be brought to justice," Barry argued, "The people of this city need me." 

"What the people of this city need is to not be killed in an explosion," Oliver said, "There are other heroes protecting the city. The men and women of the CCPD risk their lives everyday guarding the city and arresting criminals. But they aren't risking the lives of innocents. You are."

"How could I stop protecting this city? How could I stop fighting and running? I look back on how my life used to be and it seems so unfulfilling. How could I stop being a hero," asked Barry.

"You already have once you risked the lives of the entire city," Oliver growled.

"I won't stop running. I won't go back to that life. This is the first time in my life I am able to make a difference and be a part of something. I will not give that up," Barry decided.

"How did anyone ever call you a hero when you are this selfish," Felicity spat, her eyes glistening with tears."

"I don't need this. I risk my life everyday and this is what I get." Barry yelled. He got up and started to walk out of the coffee shop.


	19. The Fight Part 1

Chapter 19

The Fight Part 1

After seeing Barry start to leave, I pocketed my phone and walked outside the bathroom.

"Not so fast!" I yelled, both as an expression and as a genuine wish.

Flash turned and I projected a maze of mirrors around him. Frustrated, he yelled, "Got any other tricks."

"A couple," I said as Oliver pulled out his bow. Oliver put an arrow into the string and shot. As the arrow broke the mirror's plane, Barry saw it and quickly dodged out of the way.

"Really, Oliver?" Barry said spitefully. "I thought we were friends."

"I am a vigilante first, friend second," Oliver yelled.

Barry started to run and I followed him with the mirrors. He dashed into the window and it crashed onto the ground. He raced outside and I ran with him. Unable to see traffic, he crashed into the side of a car. His legs stopped beneath him and he flipped overtop of the car and landed forcefully onto the asphalt.

"You might not get so beat up if you'd slow down and watch where you're going," I taunted, hoping he follows the advice. I saw the lightning in his eyes flicker with anger. He stopped for a moment, as if think of what he should do next. He charged towards me, jumping over the car and the curb. He flew into me, his fist crunching against my chest. I crumpled under the force and flew onto the ground. Ignoring the pain, I recreated the mirrors, and kicked his feet, tripping him.

"Cisco must be giving him directions," I heard Caitlin realize.

"I'll see if I can stop his broadcast," Felicity said as she started to type furiously.

"Cisco can't help if he can't see," Oliver replied, shooting an arrow through a nearby street camera. He searched the area for camera and took out all of them.

"Keep hacking Felicity, Cisco could still use GPS to guide Barry," Caitlin suggested

"Cisco is moving it seems like he might be driving here to help Barry!" Felicity told us.

"Evan! Enclose the mirror around his head so he will not be able to see when an arrow is coming," Oliver instructed.

I did as he asked, creating a tight sphere around Barry's head. Despite the lack of vision, Barry started to run. His thigh collided with a fire hydrant and we all heard a definite crack as he fell to the ground.

"Cisco's out of his head!" Felicity exclaimed. "But he is here somewhere, keep your eyes open for anything he might try to pull."

Barry got up and tried to run. His leg was bleeding through his suit and he had a severe limp. Nonetheless, he got up and started to run. He ran into a streetlight headfirst and again crumpled to the ground. Getting up, He started to move in a circle. Not quite a circle however, he went in seemingly random paths around the area he now knew had no obstacles.

"He is moving randomly so that Oliver cannot take a shot," I yelled.

"A sharp arrow won't work, but maybe an explosion will," Oliver yelled.

"Yes, maybe an explosion would work," another voice said.

"Cisco no!" Caitlin screamed.

I looked towards Oliver and saw as Cisco shot towards with some kind of weapon. The RPG looking weapon's recoil knocked cisco back, sending the projectile slightly off course. The explosive detonated as it landed feet away from Oliver, sending him and chunks of asphalt catapulting through the air. Oliver crashed onto the ground without signs of getting back up.

"Oliver!" Felicity screamed.

I realized that during the distraction I had forgotten to keep projecting a mirror on the Flash. I turned around and saw him hurtle through the air towards me. His knee crushed into my gut as I was propelled backwards. I skidded along the concrete as the flash jumped overtop of me. He landed with his knee on my sternum and I heard my ribs crack under the weight. He raised his arm, landing a punch onto my nose. And another. And another. I couldn't keep track of how many punches he was going too fast.

In my dazed state, I saw a caped black figure jump down from the roof. The person landed on top of Barry, expertly kicking him off of me. As I saw their face, I realized it was Cassandra.

"Cass-" I wheezed.

She jumped off of me and roundhouse kicked the flash. She flipped a switch and the canister on her back started spraying some kind of gel onto the ground. She started sprinting towards Cisco. She pulled a batarang from her belt and shot it at cisco. The point punctured Cisco's gun and he tried to shoot to no avail. She finally reached Cisco and easily tripped him onto the ground. She took out a knife and held it over the back of Cisco's head.

"Let Evan go or I will kill your friend," Cassandra warned.

"No one hurts my friends," Barry growled, running full speed towards her. As he approached, he tried to slow down but seemed to lose traction on the gel that Cassandra had sprayed. He hurtled into the wall, his body crunching on impact. Cassandra spun around in the air and her foot made contact with his head, knocking him out.

Finished with the fight, Cassandra rushed towards me.

"You came-" I wheezed, "Even though I-"

"Shhhh" she said.

Felicity rushed towards Oliver and Caitlin ran to Cisco.

"We have to take the Flash to prison while he is still weak," I said, gasping for air.

"We have to medically treat you and Oliver. And we need to get off of the pubic street," Cassandra argued.

"We can do everything at Star Labs," Caitlin said.


	20. The Fight Part 2

Chapter 20

The Fight Part 2

Warning: this chapter is somewhat gruesome and not for the light **hearted**.

(This got way creepier than I planned…)

I sat on a bed in star labs, grimacing from the pain of my injuries. Without adrenaline, getting a beating hurts. Caitlin returned into the room after transporting Barry into a cell.

"I was able to lock Cisco and Dr. Wells out of the system so that they wouldn't be able to free Barry," Felicity said.

"Where is Dr. Wells?" I asked

"He must not have come in today. Maybe he left after he saw what happened," Felicity answered.

'Oliver needs medical attention. Evan does too, but Oliver's injuries are more severe," Caitlin explained. 

"I can help Evan," Cassandra said.

She walked towards the bed and set a bucket of medical supplies on the table next to me. She reached down to my stomach, lifting my shirt up.

"Whoa there, I thought the Flash was moving fast, but you get straight to it. I mean we haven't done this before, but I'm not complaining," I joked, hoping to ease the awkwardness.

She glared at me but couldn't help but release a tiny smirk.

"We need to make sure your vital organs weren't injured when the Flash jammed his knee in your chest," she said seriously.

"Look, Cassandra, I am so sorry for what I did," I told her, getting that off my chest. "I can't believe you came and saved me after that."

"I understand, Evan. You were having a rough time and me telling you just added to the complexity of the situation," she said.

"I am so glad that you told me though. I didn't stop me from liking you. It made me love you more."

"You love me?" she asked, flustered. She realized that I accepted her past and I saw the relief she felt as her shoulders relaxed. Her body language always said more than she did.

"What is there not to love? I mean you did just knock out the person that was beating me up," I said.

She smiled. "I love you too, Evan."

She reached into her medical supply bag and grabbed a bottle of pills. She took two out and gave them to me.

"For the pain," she said.

I swallowed them and instantly felt the pain washing away from my body.

"Ahhhh," I sighed. "I feel much better, I think I can get up now."

"No, you feel good, but you will injure yourself," she warned.

"Fine," I said.

I heard Oliver move in the bed next to me, groaning. "What happened?" he moaned.

"Batgirl saved you and Evan," Felicity said.

"Batgirl? From Gotham?" Oliver asked.

"Yeah, and she lives in Central City now," Felicity replied. "Here take these," Felicity told Oliver, grabbing two pain pills.

"Marvelous isn't it?" I asked, seeing him relax.

"Ohhhhh," he sighed.

"Don't try to get up like Evan did," Caitlin ordered.

"Is the Flash taken care of?" Oliver asked.

"He is in a cell in Star Labs," I answered. "Everything is finally finished."

"Not quite," I heard from the back of the room. I heard a crackle of electricity and a flash of red lighting passed by us.

"What was that? Who was that?" Felicity shrieked.

"It took Caitlin!" Oliver growled, standing up from his bed.

I started to get up, my ribs feeling as if they were breaking again. I got up and walked to the computer screen everyone was staring at. A surveillance feed showed a man in a yellow suit holding Caitlin. The man looked like the Flash, except all of the colors were wrong. His suit was yellow and his lighting was red.

"Unlock the Flash from this prison or I will kill every person in the building. No, every person in this city," he ordered with a scratchy deep voice.

She squirmed, trying to escape from his grip.

"NOW," he roared.

"Fine," she whimpered, putting her hand onto the keypad and unlocking the cell. The yellow man threw her onto the ground and stared at Barry as the cell opened.

"Hello Flash," he crackled in a sinister voice.

"Who are you?" Barry yelled.

"That's not important. Yet," he told Barry. He shot away, leaving only red lightning in his trail.

"He is leaving Star Labs!" Felicity told Barry through the microphone.

"We have to stop them. Evan, Cassandra, come with me into the Star Labs van," Oliver ordered.

We ran to the elevator and saw as Barry raced outside of the building.

I shook my head and grimaced, complaining "After all that trouble and now our problem doubled?"

"Our new priority is the yellow man," Oliver barked. "While Barry could make an explosion, this new guy seems much less goodhearted."

We finally got inside the van and left Star Labs. In the driving seat, Oliver asked, "Where are they headed?"

"The Yellow Flash is heading to the CCPD," Caitlin answered over our radio hearing devices.

Oliver floored the gas and we shot forward towards the police station.

"The yellow Flash was still accelerating," Felicity explained.

Oliver swerved through the traffic, tossing us around like Jello in the backseats.

"He just broke the sound barrier," Caitlin told us. "He seems to be accelerating exponentially we're having trouble following him on the map."

"He's reaching near light speed velocity," Felicity observed.

"He should have created an explosion by now," I said, confused.

"Dr. Wells was right," Felicity realized.

What? Dr. Wells was right. Barry isn't going to destroy the city. I felt a pit of guilt and dread form in my stomach.

"I can't believe I betrayed Barry. I was willing to kill one of my best friends over nothing," Caitlin whispered.

"You need to focus right now," Oliver shouted, his face resolute.

"You guys need to hurry, Barry's vital are dropping. The yellow Flash must be killing him," Felicity told us.

Oliver revved the engine and we pulled into the CCPD parking lot. We saw Barry on his back on the ground. We ran to him and saw his bloodied face from the fighting.

"Where is the yellow Flash?" Oliver yelled as we kneeled around Barry's unconscious body.

"I am right here," a voice behind us said. We saw of red lightning come between Cassandra and I, smashing Oliver to the ground unconscious. I focused on putting a mirror around me but he darted outside of it to quickly for me to follow.

"I am a little too quick for that trick," the yellow flash said behind us. As I turned around I saw red lightning dash beside me, taking Cassandra with it. I saw as he rammed her into the side of a car, pinning her.

"Cassandra!" I yelled, running towards her.

"Cassandra?" he growled. "You weren't in history, you're not supposed to be here."

Not in history? What does that mean? I sprinted as fast as I could and tried to project a mirror but the yellow flash zipped past me, ending up far behind me.

"Sorry, little bat," he whispered menacingly.

"Stop," I screamed, my hands shivering in fear. "You're evil," I spat turning to face him.

"Oh, don't worry, you could be evil too if you put your heart into," he mocked. "Or maybe her heart," he said with a glint in his eyes. As he raised his hand, I futilely sprinted towards him. His hand became a blur as he raised it above her. He shoved his hand through her chest evoking bloodcurdling screams of agony. Cassandra slumped to the ground as he pulled his hand back out.

In shock and disbelief, my legs collapsed and I plummeted to the ground. Tears, sweat, and blood looked splatter painted onto her unmoving face. I gazed at the empty cavity within her chest. Her ribs were mangled inward like the bars of a broken shark cage. Still trickling blood traveled down her red stained shirt. I brought my hands to my face, covering my eyes. .

"NO," I shrieked, curling my fingers into fists. "How could you do this?" I howled.

"Me?" he feigned innocence. "This was the Flash's doing. He is the one who brought you into this situation. He is the one who was too weak to stop me. I am just a bullet, he pulled the trigger," he explained maniacally.

He is manipulating me. I can't let him try to divert my anger away. But doesn't he have a point? None of this would have happened without the Flash. The Flash didn't pull the trigger, but he bought the gun and didn't put the safety on.

I looked at Cassandra's dead body, her neck crooked in an unnatural way.

"Cassandra," I whimpered, fighting tears. She will be mourned for later, I realized, but now she needed to be avenged. Breathing shakily, I threw myself up into a sprint.

"Oh, you were the one who wanted to steal her heart, weren't you?" the yellow flash mocked. "Don't worry, I'll let you have it."

I saw his red lighting speed past me and when I turned my head the red blur disappeared into the distance. "The red blur". What really is the difference between him and the Flash?

I realized I felt my hand clasped around some warm wet object. I looked down to find a red, round, and fleshy object in my grip. I gasped, dropping the object and collapsing to the ground. Red streaks coated my hands and I closed my eyes in horror.

I looked back towards the spot where the yellow Flash killed Cassandra. All that was left behind was lines of blood as if spray-painted onto a sports field. He took her body. Not only did he rip her heart out, but he also stole her body. What kind of monster is he? What was he doing to her?

I cupped my hand over my mouth to muffle my sobs. I was reminded of the blood on my hands when the salty taste invaded my mouth. I removed my hand and reached for her heart. I felt the weight of the still warm organ in my hand. It was the only thing left of Cassandra. Strings of tendons hung from the heart, snapped from her body when the yellow Flash ripped her heart out. I can't do this, I thought. I threw the heart in disgust, bile rising in my throat.

I climbed back onto my feet and ran towards Oliver and Barry. Reaching them, I shook Oliver, whimpering, "Oliver, please wake up, please help me." I gulped and gasped for air.

I stood up and grabbed Barry's hands. I pulled on his hands, screaming, "Barry get up, get up, please." I gave up hope and let go. Barry's hands were streaked with blood.

I crumpled from fatigue and my vision blurred into blackness.


End file.
